Fall Registration for Marine Apprenticeship Training in British Columbia is Open!

June 10, 2019

Outreach for Quadrant Marine Apprenticeship

There are 16 seats available in each program below. Register your employees now before they fill up!

• Level 1 Marine Service Technician training at Quadrant Marine Institute starts in September in Sidney and Vancouver. To register click here. For more information about the program visit Quadrant online or contact Shelley McIvor at (250) 656-2824 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Level 1 Marine Mechanical Technician training at BCIT starts in October in Burnaby. For more information and to register, visit BCIT’s website here. Questions about the program can be directed to Russell Oye: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 604.451.6824.

Now Accepting Applications for the 2019 Glenn Spartz Scholarship Program

We are now accepting applications for the Glenn Spartz Scholarship, which offers financial support to students enrolled in MMT training at BCIT or VIU. The scholarship is a collaboration between Boating BC and our partners in the marine propulsion sector: Mercury Marine, Yamaha, Volvo Penta, BRP/Evinrude and Suzuki Marine.

The scholarship removes financial barriers for your employees while training to become a marine tech. To date, we’ve awarded 25 scholarships and have received fantastic feedback from past recipients.

The application deadline for anyone enrolled in training that commences in October is Friday, September 6, 2019. For more information and to download an application form, click here.

Burlington Sailing & Boating Club – a successful four-way partnership

By Katherine Stone

It’s always amazing to me how life has degrees of separation that are incredibly small, even when you spend your adult life in another country than the one you grew up in. I grew up sailing on Lake Erie and when my father’s health was on the decline it was decided that I would be appointed to sell his boat. As fate would have it, an older gentleman came to see the boat and decided on the spot to purchase it. Off it sailed, out of Lake Erie, through the canal and into Lake Ontario to reside happily at the Burlington Sailing & Boating Club. Little did I know that many years later, I would be doing their profile for Canadian Yachting.

Katherine Stone

Like many other harbours on Lake Ontario, Cobourg has seen its fair share of changes. Screams used to be heard from kids piled into a toboggan on wheels that went hurtling down a wooden slide into the harbour. Above it all was the bustling din from the waterfront of ship’s whistles, train engines, foghorns and thundering coal cars. It is now a rather serene place for the locals and visitors to enjoy various watercraft. Fortunately, the beautiful beach that lines the waterfront is still a star attraction for the town.

Located 95 kilometres east of Toronto and 62 kilometres east of Oshawa on the north edge of Lake Ontario, United Empire Loyalists first starting arriving in the area as early as the 1780s. The first settlement in 1798 was called Buckville, later renamed Amherst, then called Hamilton (after the township) and also nicknamed Hardscrabble. It wasn’t until 1819 that they finally settled on the name of Cobourg, which was incorporated as a town in 1837. In the late 1820s large schooners with passengers and cargo had to anchor well off shore, as there was only a landing wharf. A group of Toronto businessmen formed the Cobourg Harbour Company which built the wooden Eastern Pier from tolls charged for the use of the harbour.

CY Virtual Video Boat Tours

Virtual Boat Tours We all love boats and nothing can break us up! So, what better way to spend our time than looking at interesting boats and going aboard in a virtual ride or tour. We have asked our friends at various dealers and manufacturers to help us assemble a one-stop online resource to experience some of the most interesting boats on the market today. Where the CY Team has done a review, we connect you to that expert viewpoint. Our Virtual Show will continue to grow so visit frequently and check it out. If you can’t go boating, you can almost experience the thrill via your screen. Not quite the same, but we hope you enjoy our fine tour collection.

Read more about the CY Virtual Boat Tours....................

Beneteau Oceanis 30.1

Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 As boat builders clamber to create ever-bigger platforms for ever-more generous budgets, the entry-level cruiser has become an elusive animal. Sure, if you want to daysail, there are plenty of small open boats from which to choose, but if you want a freshly built pocket cruiser, you’re in for a long search. Enter French builder Groupe Beneteau, which identified this gap in the market and set about creating the Oceanis 30.1, an adorable little cruiser that resembles her larger siblings in all but length and price. With all she offers, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call her a mini yacht.

Read More about the Beneteau Oceanis 30.1..................

Heritage and hip: Kingston as a port destination

By Amy Hogue

Cruise into the city of Kingston, Ontario, and it will quickly become clear that this city and surrounding waterways have something special. Built around the northern shore of Lake Ontario, Kingston is the place to go if you love to explore new waterways, fantastic views, and exceptional boating opportunities.

Sitting at the intersection of three world-class Canadian bodies of water, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Rideau Canal (Cataraqui River from Kingston to Newboro), the water’s influence is deeply woven into Kingston’s culture and history.

Planning a Cruise with PORTS Cruising Guide

By Rob MacLeod, the InformedBoater

After decades of perusing charts and guidebooks as part of planning a cruise, it was a totally different experience editing PORTS Cruising Guide Georgian Bay, The North Channel and Lake Huron. My copy of PORTS Lake Ontario and Thousand Islands is dog-eared and well worn. That is how it is supposed to look after a few summers of use. If you have one that is still pristine itÕs time to get off the dock and put your PORTS Guide to good use.

Mary and I have a process for planning a cruise. It actually starts well in advance while the boat is laid up for winter.

Blue Guard Introduces Next-Gen Bilge Pump Switch with Integrated Oil and Fuel Detection Sensor

Blue Guard Bilge Pump Switch Blue Guard has announced the general availability of the BG-One, a solid-state bilge pump switch, oil and fuel detector. Having no moving parts or mechanical float switches, BG-One will automatically turn off the bilge pump when oil or fuel is detected, preventing potentially costly oil or fuel discharge.

BG-One was designed with boat owners, environment and operational durability in mind, and protects the owners and operators from fines and clean up costs due to unwanted oil discharge from bilges.

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